Economics | Penn Today

Rising debt imperils Trump, Dem hopes on infrastructure

The Wharton School’s Kent Smetters said infrastructure spending creates the most growth when it’s not being funded through deficits.

How superstitions spread

Superstitious beliefs may seem irrational, but they catch on in a society. Using an evolutionary approach to studying the emergence of coordinated behaviors, Erol Akçay and Bryce Morsky showed how a jumble of individual beliefs, including superstitions, coalesce into an accepted social norm.

outstretched hand holding several golden eggs on a table

Lump-sum pension payments: Who are the winners and losers?

Wharton’s Olivia S. Mitchell discusses the Treasury department’s move to allow private companies to pay lump-sum pension payments to retirees and beneficiaries, instead of monthly payments.

A non-binary person using a laptop at work.

How gender and racial biases are hurting economics

Following a survey released this month by the American Economic Association that reveals a disturbingly high level of gender bias in the field, Wharton’s Olivia S. Mitchell discusses the effects of gender and racial biases in the field of economics.

Erdogan’s election setback dents hope for big reforms in Turkey

The Wharton School’s Nihat Bulent Gultekin spoke about Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan and his party’s piecemeal economic strategy, saying, “I don’t think they have any long-term objectives. It would require a constant focus on the economy for an extended period of time.”

Critics say Yang's cash giveaway means people won't work. Alaska says otherwise

Ioana Marinescu of the School of Social Policy & Practice spoke about her research on universal basic income experiments in Alaska. Marinescu and her collaborator found that access to these funds did not have any negative impact on people’s desire to work.

A ‘wealth tax’ presents a revenue estimation puzzle

Natasha Sarin of the Law School and the Wharton School co-authored an op-ed assessing Elizabeth Warren’s proposed 2% “wealth tax” on those worth over $50 million. “If our suspicion is correct, such a wealth tax will not yield the revenue that its proponents hope for, and that when actual scorekeepers score actual proposals, their estimates will disappoint advocates,” write Sarin and her co-author, Lawrence Summers of Harvard University.

abandoned storefront and empty parking lot

Nostalgia is not enough: Why consumers abandon legacy brands

Legacy brands like Sears, Payless ShoeSource, and Toys “R” Us are shuttering their doors as customers abandon longstanding consumer mainstays. Despite customers having emotional connections to certain stores, “It is more like these brands are breaking up with the customers,” says Santiago Gallino of the Wharton School.

U.S. debt: Is it the calm before the storm?

The U.S. national debt has crossed $22 trillion. Wharton’s Kent Smetters and Joao Gomes discuss the nation’s long-term debt burden and what might be done about it.

What Europe’s populist right is getting right

Mitchell Orenstein of the School of Arts and Sciences wrote an op-ed analyzing the success of authoritarian nationalist candidates in European politics, which he attributes to their support for economic policies that “benefit average people.”

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